One theme of the Financial Services Institute’s OneVoice conference was the increasing influence of the advocacy group in Washington. In 2010, the group’s budget was $3.5 million, and for 2013, it’s projected to be more than $7 million. The group now has 35,000 financial advisor members and over 100 financial services firm members. This year’s conference had record attendance of 750, up from 600 last year. David Bellaire, executive vice president and general counsel of FSI, said the group has the greatest effectiveness with FINRA and the SEC. They’ve invested a lot in having a constructive working relationship with the regulators. “We are not bomb throwers.”